Broken Eagle
The organization known as Broken Eagle is a survivalist group of former military personnel primarily located on Diomikato, however, other cells or conclaves are located across the sector. The semi-secret headquarters of Broken Eagle is located in an abandoned council hall in the Bloody Ruins of Diomikato were annual summits are held. History Great Debate The origins of Broken Eagle begin in late May of 3170 when Praetor Decarius Alphonse presented an open letter addressing security concerns of the Empire should the synthetic forces of House Aquila ever be removed. Despite the many objections from House Cygnus affiliates, Alphonse suggested the possibility that one could target the synthetics via bio-weaponry and decimate the force of the Legions within a matter of months if not weeks. Because of the praetor’s cunning, the open letter sparked great paranoia and a month long debate within the Convocation, even despite many members investigating such a possibility with House Cygnus directly. After the many weeks, the Cygnus Coalition was able to disprove the fears and scenarios posited by Praetor Alphonse and effectively tabled the matter in their favor. In much of current record there is evidence to indicate Praetor Alphonse’s goal was not to prove any imminent threat to the synthetic legions but to spur enough action to halt or reverse the mass adoption of such synthetic forces should his “paranoia” prove true in some fashion. Founding Broken Eagle was unofficially formed in September of 3170 by Praetor Decarius Alphonse after he began the Great Debate to address the vast majority of synthetic presence in the legions. Though the praetor failed to convince the Convocation to move to action, a single member did believe his fears: Legate Vallerius Ludvilla privately reached out to the praetor to support his desire prepare for emergencies such as the ones described in his open letter. With her support, Praetor Alphonse was revitalized in his vision and together they slowly formed the organization that would become Broken Eagle. The organization was officially recognized eo nomine at the funeral of Praetor Alphonse in September of 3180, and the title of Prime Eidolon was formally bestowed to Legate Ludvilla in his parting message. The combined efforts of both Praetor Alphonse and Legate Ludvilla, along with quiet backing of other parties within House Aquila, allowed the organization to slowly grow into a prepared and widespread force that was able to have operating cells throughout the sector of Acheron Rho. Fall of Diomikato After the Fall of Infernum, Broken Eagle cells activated across the Empire spreading the word to each other of what ACRE had done. Broken Eagle members on Diomikato used their access to the safe houses to get as many surviving Convocation members to safety while helping them maintain the chain of command as the crisis unfurled. They also began coordinating with local community leaders to make sure both military and civilian needs were met and that all possible personnel had weapons to defend themselves if ACRE or anybody else decided to start attacking civilians. Many engineers began to move supplies and units below ACRE’s notice through underground passages and tunnels that were quietly maintained and secreted away by the organization. These tunnels provided the necessary infrastructure to allow Broken Eagle personnel to prepare for Diomikato's vengeance by allowing the collection of friendly scattered troops and the engagement enemy patrols in ambushes or with booby-traps. Once imminent civilian sectors were taken care of, the Eidolons began the “real work”; the organization transitioned from defense doctrines to guerrilla operations to maintain the fight until standard legions could reinforce the planet. Broken Eagle also carried out assassinations, suicide attacks, sabotage operations, and anything else that might help to delay or interfere with hostile operations on the planet. Their bases are even known to be rigged to collapse in the Diomikaten soils in the event of discovery or defeat. Organziation Broken Eagle has two bodies that are designated by a semi-secretive naming convention intended to outline the functional members and the non-dedicated. Any member bearing the rank or name of Eidolon is a de jure and sworn member of Broken Eagle; Eidolons often act as leaders and enactors of the organizational mission in their region. Anyone bearing the position almost always knows how to contact other members of the same rank and participate in conclaves across the sector. The one bearing the rank of Prime Eidolon acts as the director and dictator of the different conclaves throughout the sector and functions as the organizational head in almost every capacity. This position is often passed down by nomination from the previous Prime Eidolon, and in the event there was no nomination a nomination summit is held. The summit is intended only for those to seek the power of nominator and it is only possible to be concluded when the attending parties have declared the Nominator. Any member designated as Shadow has a de facto membership in the organization; they may claim this membership rank of Broken Eagle but they are often too un-involved in the organizational structure to be named Eidolon and must complete a ritual known as The Crossing in which they swear themselves to the oath of the Broken Eagle. After this process is complete they would become an Eidolon of the organization and undertake their duty to persevere towards the mission. Theses ranks would colloquially be applied before the first name and only include the first name of the addressed individual. Naming Convention Examples (Strikethrough denotes the plausibility of existing military ranks being applied or not): *Formal Base: Legate Vallerius Ludvilla *Changes: Legate Eidolon Vallerius Ludvilla *Legate Shadow Vallerius Ludvilla *Colloquial Base: Legate Ludvilla *Changes: Eidolon Ludvilla *Shadow Ludvilla Prior to the ACRE landing most members of Broken Eagle were former soldiers, either retired or injured - some were active soldiers, but most had already done their time in the Legions. The majority of members acquired technical skills from their distinct careers that they then used maintaining the equipment, bunkers, safe houses, and tunnels. Their broad membership in society is due to their skill sets having placed them in favorable positions across the sector. After the attack on Diomikato, many personnel across the sector joined have joined Broken Eagle, most of them had prior service experience, but some merely strived to fight back with only the mandatory training all Diomikatans receive. More current soldiers injured by ACRE’s attacks or that had lost contact with their squads were found by Broken Eagle and integrated into the group. In just one day membership rates rose exponentially and as membership rises, so does the group’s ambitions. Known Members *Eidolon Triarii Petros Zukov *Eidolon Triarii Aquilla Mozrius Audens Philosophy The unifying vision of Broken Eagle members is readiness to fight the enemies of the Aquila beyond even death. Current orthodox thinking of the organization is that the Synthetic Crisis alongside the Great Betrayal has cast the Empire into a spiral falling towards its utter destruction and that all sworn members must prepare for that coming eventuality and avenge the Empire’s death if it is not saved by capable hands. This belief that the Empire is doomed to fail in the next century should an Imperial Peace - a “Pax Imperialia” - not be put in place is reflected in the official motto of the organization, “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum” and, as such, the members seek peace through the projection and readiness of Imperial military power. Equipment Broken Eagle will use any ordnance they can gain access to; the organization has an ARMatius contract to collect discarded military arms and armor for use in self stocked emergency caches scattered throughout the sector. They also locate and collect the left over military caches from Aquilan deployment zones. These stockpiles and bunkers are kept up to date and well maintained for any such situation where they would be needed. Some members have been known to take the equipment they have been issued during their careers if the situation requires it; this includes heavy weapons, vehicles and even lorica. Many of the wealthier members also purchase advanced cyberware in preparation of death, infrastructure downfall, or loss of Imperial supremacy. Though such cyberware is of varying rarity depending on available resources and expendable capital of the individual’s themselves (Revenant Wiring, Ghost Talker Transceivers, Holdout Cavities, etc). Tactics As former and current soldiers, most members of Broken Eagle have a strong understanding of Aquilan tactics but, since they aren’t held to the same standards of warfare, members are much more likely to resort to “underhanded tactics” to accomplish their goals. Individuals within the group may still hold themselves to a code of honor or ethics, but Broken Eagle has no mandated “Rules of Engagement” outside of avoiding civilian casualties when possible. Category:House Aquila Category:Organizations